Writing in a personal capacity to share views, information and resources for teachers, trade unionists and campaigners in London - and beyond!

Sunday, 25 May 2014

Gove stoops to a new low in 'banning' US classic literature

“In every
bit of honest writing in the world, there is a base theme. Try to understand
men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man
well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter
means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing
punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base
theme. TRY TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER!” John Steinbeck.

Michael Gove
has long since become a hated figure to anyone who genuinely understands
education. However, the news in this morning's 'Sunday Times' that Gove has
insisted that classic American literature such as 'Of Mice and Men', 'To Kill a
Mockingbird' and 'The Crucible' must be dropped from the new English literature GCSE
has shocked and angered teachers, parents and students alike.

“Sometimes
the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of
(another)... There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying
about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can
look down the street and see the results"
Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

Of course,
not only are these books fantastically written and enjoyed by the young people who
study them, they are also thought-provoking - and of thoughts that perhaps Gove
doesn't want pupils to have. After all, as in The Crucible, perhaps Gove
doesn't want students to consider what life would be like in a world where
dissent became unlawful - perhaps far better to 'ban' such 'satanic' literature instead!

"The
two men squat on their hams and the women and children listen. Here is the
node, you who hate change and fear revolution. Keep these two squatting men
apart; make them hate, fear, suspect each other. Here is the anlage of the
thing you fear. This is the zygote. For here "I lost my land" is
changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing you
hate --"We lost our land." The danger is here, for two men are not as
lonely and perplexed as one" John Steinbeck, The Grapes
of Wrath

This
narrow-minded act by Gove may yet prove to be another miscalculation. Books
like these have made an impact on many a young person - and young people who
are now parents with children of their own. Gove's ignorant decision will help
to make crystal-clear why teachers have to take action to stop the damage being
inflicted on education - and why we are calling on parents to support our
struggle.

Martin Powell-Davies

* Brought up as a socialist by parents who hungered for what is right * One adopted grandfather left me a double-barrelled name, the other his name on a 1926 General Strike black-list * Joined the Labour Party as a teenager, left it when it abandoned the values and traditions of so many who built it in the past * Given a comprehensive education at St.Andrew's, Leatherhead * First-class degree from King's College, Cambridge, for those who like that kind of thing * Secondary science teacher in London 1986-2015 * Lewisham NUT Secretary 1993-2015, organiser of many campaigns to defend teachers and education * Living in Sydenham since 1997, father of four who were all so well-supported by Sedgehill School * Member of the NUT National Executive 2010-15 * NUT London Regional Secretary 2016 - * Proud to have been name-checked by Gove for saying that his 'reforms' could make teaching unbearable * Member of the CWI, following its global struggles via http://www.socialistworld.net * Candidate for TUSC in Lewisham West & Penge, 2015 * Member of Penge CC, often a 'Middle Aged Man In Lycra' on Sundays